For your final project, you will submit sound samples you had collected throughout the semester, each with an inspiration (such as a video clip, a song, or a picture) and a piece of free writing. At the end of the semester you will edit together all the sound samples you collected into a composition. Along with the composition you will provide a technical paper that describes the concept of your composition and the techniques you had used.
You are to do this project individually.
The first phase starts on Monday, 9/30, during which you are to collect sound samples on a regular basis. You can collect sound many different ways. For example, you can record the sound objects made using devices such as a cell phone (this is called field recording). Or, you can take a pre-existing sound (such as the audio part of a video, or parts of a song) and manipulate them (this is called sampling). You will be given some lecture time to collect your sound (as of now we have scheduled 3 lectures for field recording. The schedule will change as the semester progresses. Please refer to the updated schedule), however, you will need to spend extra time on your own for this. By Monday, 11/11, you have to collect at least 6 sound samples, 4 of which have to use the technique of field recording. All of your sound samples must be in .mp3 format (if you originally recorded a sound sample in another format, a simple conversion using Audacity would do the trick).
Along with each sound sample, you must provide an inspiration. An inspiration could be a picture, a song, a video clip, etc., each with a piece of writing. This is to ensure that the sound you had collected means something to you. And, for each sound sample (and inspiration) you must provide a piece of free writing (under 1 page) articulating why the sound sample is meaningful to you. An example would be the recording of a news report on a major event. The inspiration would be a picture of the event, and the free writing would articulate why this event is meaningful to you. All of the sound samples you had collected should be connected in some way, this will keep your final composition cohesive. You will have some lecture time to work on your free writing (see schedule for detail), but you will most likely need to spend extra time outside of class for this.
Your sound samples, inspirations, and free writings are due on Monday, 11/11, by the start of class. They must be presented in the following format: all of your sound sample must be of .mp3 extension. All your free writings must be written in Microsoft Word (thus of .doc extension). Each of your sound sample must be accompanied by an inspiration and a piece of free writing, all of which are placed inside a single file folder named after the sound sample number. If your inspiration is a link (to a web page or to a video), you can include it in the same document as your free writing (just put the link underneath your writing and label it "inspiration used:"). Thus, by Monday, 11/11, you must have at least 6 folders. You will then place all 6 folders inside one main folder and name it Free Writing). Zip the main folder (your final submission must be of .zip extension) and submit it via Moodle. I will give you instructions on a proper submission during lecture. The ability of you putting together a submission in the format specified is worth points according to the grading guide.
The second phase of this project starts when you had made your initial phase submission (on Monday, 11/11). During which you will put all the sound you had collected into one composition (using Audacity). You can manipulate your sound however you like. You must use only the sound you had submitted. Finally, your composition must present an interesting and cohesive idea, of which you will explain via writing. Your composition must be of .mp3 extension (you can make the conversion using Audacity).
With your composition you will submit a technical essay. Your technical essay is very important as it explains the two main components of your composition: the idea you are trying to convey and the techniques you had used.
In your technical essay you must present the massage in your composition. You will write a cohesive story-like narrative that outlines the thought process you had gone through from formulating the idea to finalizing it. Your narrative must connect all the free writings you had submitted to me.
In your technical essay you must also present the techniques used in your composition, you must explain them clearly in writing, present a brief survey, and cite all the publications (books or articles) in proper format. For example, if I decided to use Musique Concrete as the main technique in my composition, I will need to explain in writing what Musique Concrete is; how it is typically used in compositions, and present a brief survey on the use through music history. Thus before making your final composition you must go to the library and research on the techniques you plan to use. After you had decided on the technique(s), you should take the books home, you will need to paraphrase them in your writing.
Finally, your technical essay must have a clear structure that includes an introduction, related work (which gives a survey on the history and evolution of the technique), a story-like narrative, a section describing how the technique is used in your composition, and a conclusion. You will be given lecture time to work on your technical essay (see updated schedule for detail), but you will mostly likely need to spend extra time outside of class. Your technical essay must be written in Microsoft word (thus of .doc extension).